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Telegraph, The (Newspaper) - July 27, 1999, Alton, Illinois
SERVING THE RIVER BEND SINCE 1836 The outlook Partly sunny with isolated tstorms high near 89 low near 72 New on the menu Wood River eatery gives customers a Taste of India PageDl Tuesday July On the court Altons Dedue is tennis player of the year Hotel remains a hot spot I JA Scene of blaze is still under investigation By THOMAS WRAUSMANN Telegraph staff writer JjERSEYVILLE A build ing that stood tall in the heart of town for nearly a Century was leveled by fire Sutiday within a matter of Hours and continued to smol state fire marshal reported there doesnt fcppear to be anything suspi cftms about the blaze at the Lprton Hotel but the scene remains under investigation brick building was declared a total loss officials said Lorton coowner of the building with Jerseyville attorney Bill Strang said the fire apparently started in the basement and was likely caused by an electrical or mechanical malfunction was just a Lofton said adding that the official investigation into the cause continues He said Strang was mak ingplans to move his law office into the historic build ing and a title company planned to use the building as Well The building was put up in 1905 at U4 St and is on the National Register of Historic Places they havent decided on whether or not to construct another building at the site Were still up in the air on what to he said Monday However Jerseyville Police Chief Thomas Woelfel said the fire marshal hadnt been able to look closely at thewreckage Monday because it was still smolder ing with burning coals espe cially in the basement He is ejected to arrive today to investigate further officials said Woelfel said that Jerseyville Fire Chief Alan MrSCraSBKi ing the blaze along with fire great place to live This fighters from the Carrollton Volunteer Fire Department The fire was fought into the afternoon Sunday but contin ued to smolder all day Monday Kudos should also go out to members of the communi ty who voluntarily brought muchappreciated ice water and Gatorade in the extreme heat Woelfel said Two fire fighters were treated for heatrelated illnesses but both are recovering authori ties said The community support that the emergency workers got over there was phenome place Jersey County never ceases to amaze In late 1997 a patron stabbed one man to death and seriously injured four others at the hotels bar and grill which later closed However the hotel was still serving visitors when the fire started around 4 Sunday Ricky E Callahan 23 of Jerseyville was found guilty last week of the firstdegree murder of Ronald E Haenitch 28 of rural Jerseyville along with See HOTEL Page A7 f lark ready to settle with EPA The BADMAN A piece of ornate tin ceiling lies in the rubble of the hotel which Is on the National Register of Historic Places Attorney begins quest for Congress By DENNIS GRUBAUGH Telegraph stafff writer EDWARDSVILLE Attorney Jeffrey S Cooper beat a path Monday from Edwardsville to Quincy in the official launch of his quest for Congress I believe that leader ship is equal parts vision and action Action means waking up each and every morn ing to take the steps nee essary to Cooper realize that Cooper told about 40 supporters from the front steps of his home in the 200 block of Coventry Place in Edwardsville The Democrat is challeng ing the Republican incumbent Rep John Shimkus of Collinsville for his seat in Illinois 20th Congressional District Cooper would face Shimkus in the November 2000 election However Cooper first must win the spring primary where he likely will face at least one other Democrat Jersey County Board member Dan Moore of Medora who kicked off his own campaign Saturday From Edwardsville Cooper continued on to stops in Carrollton Chatham and Quincy A total of about 200 people turned out including a large family contingent in Carrollton At each stop Cooper large ly repeated the topics that he will focus on during the next year improving education preserving Social Security arid protecting American farmers See CONGRESS Page A7 By KfcRRY SMITH Telegraph staff writer Clark Refining and Marketing Inc is ready to expediently settle a toxje chemicals reporting dis crepancy with the Environmental Protection Agency that dates to 199394 Clark Vice President John Bernbom said the company justlearned of the EPAs administrative complaint filed this month The complaint alleges Clark Refining and Marketing Inc violated feder al law on the reporting of 17 toxic chemicals being used at its Hartford facility more than five years ago The EPA has proposed a fine but Bernbom is confident a detailed explana tion of Clarks operations dur ing 199394 will keep the refin ing company from having to CLARK Page Heat pumps up power usage By CORY A PITT year ago to the date July 21 I HM By CORY A PITT For The Telegraph As residents looked to air conditioning for relief from the sweltering temperatures utili ty officials kept a close eye on electric power usage The recent high tempera tures have resulted in a r J corresponding Good Morning fr Bulletin Board A6 Clwslfleds C6 Cbrnics C4 Obituaries A5 Beadles Guinn Mattis Moore Robertson Sanders Schaefer Smith Toppmeyer Zerwas Television dont recover at night when it is cooler and year ago to the date 1998 Wednesdays record was shortlived however as Thursdays numbers topped the previous days usage by six megawatts at Those are preliminary said Mike Monahan a spokesman for IP Well go back through power musuy because it i of the increased air Conditioning Can an alltime USe nf air condib t ff record demand UCLUi HSU OIL for electricity Mike Monahan What were tioners Illinois Power looked at record pre liminary num bers last week of electric power usage by its estimated customers Last Wednesdays numbers indicated systemwide usage of megawatts more than 200 megawatts higher than the recordsetting usage set one seeing is an Illinois Power spokesman extended hot spell and it stays hot and humid during the night People just dont recover at night when it is usually cooler and air conditioning can be turned See HEAT Page A7 The BADMAN Jay Ross an employee of Steve Yates Sons Construction Inc in Edwardsville is silhouetted Monday by the blazing hot sun as he lays bricks at the new Caseys under construction on Washington Avenue in Alton See related story Page A3 TRUCKLOAD CARPET SALE 700 Rolls in f lock Vinyl from 334 sq ft Carpet from 33 sq ft laminqte Wood Flooring from 1 ft CARPET JJWWRT 4652622
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